


Finders-Keepers

by aces_mild



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fellswap (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Swapfell (Undertale), F/F, F/M, I don't know which one to tag this as, M/M, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, also the rating is teen and up because when paps finds Reader he's pretty sure they're dead, blood tw, its swapfell/fellswap so its hard to get away from dark themes, kinda dark themes i guess?, paps is a soft boy in a sharp world, suicide TW, undyne is a science disaster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:02:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25691023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aces_mild/pseuds/aces_mild
Summary: Papyrus finds a human in Waterfall's dump and decides that it's his.
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Papyrus (Swapfell)/Reader, Sans (Swapfell)/Reader
Comments: 19
Kudos: 274





	1. Prologue

Papyrus wades through the shin-high water of he dump, his torn jeans rolled up to his knees to keep them from getting soaked. He leans over one of the many piles of garbage. This one looks...promising. 

He opens the door to a dented mailbox with a broken wooden post attached, and finds a terrified Froggit inside. It lets out a tiny cry of terror and backs up as far as it can. 

“Shh! I’m not...I ain’t here to hurt ya, see?” he whispers. “Y’can just...stay in there, ‘kay? I won’t tell nobody yer here.” he closes the mailbox gently, and backs away. 

Moving on, he circles the pile and lifts the rusted lid to an equally rusted garbage bin. Inside is a soaked body pillow - the face of some random anime twink dotted with mold and stained with stars-know-what. 

“Hey, loser, ya find anything yet??” Undyne shouts from the other end of the dump. 

“Nah,” he answers casually. He’s helping her look for discarded lab equipment from the surface - or anything that could potentially be used as lab equipment - so he doesn’t feel the need to tell her about the nasty body pillow. 

Especially since he knows she might actually want to keep it for some gross reason.

He puts the lid back on the trash can and moves on to another pile. This one’s got some cardboard boxes in it that somehow survived the fall and being partially submerged. He rustles through them, and comes across something truly rare - a game console! It’s cube-shaped, with a handle and everything. No wires or controllers, though. Still, Undyne might be able to do something with it. 

“Hey, I got somethin’!” He calls, and hears Undyne’s sloshing footsteps from around the corner. 

He turns the console over in his hands, noting the disappointing but unavoidable water damage. He catches something - a flash of gold in the darkness - out of the corner of his eye-socket, and turns toward a seemingly dead end. There, he sees a patch of golden flowers somehow managing to flourish in the darkness. He places the cube on top of the garbage pile and walks over, marveling at how pretty the flowers are, their stems stretching up through the water so the blooms can rest on the surface. 

But there’s...something else? Something stuck there, barely visible between the petals. It looks like...a blanket? Or maybe a towel…? It’s fabric, he can tell that much, and he’s always on the lookout for new things to add to his wardrobe, so he reaches out and gives it a tug.

It’s stuck. 

He tugs harder, leaning down and pulling with both hands, and finds that the fabric is attached to something solid. In the gloom, it takes him a second to realize that the ‘something solid’ is a body. 

He yelps and lets go, falling backward into the shallow water. 

Undyne lets out a harsh laugh. “What the fuck?” 

“I...there...it’s…” Papyrus stutters, unable to get the words out. He can see the body clearer now that he knows what he’s looking at. He’d been pulling at the person’s - at the human’s shirt...

Undyne sloshes over and gently kicks him in the spine. “Spit it out!”

He shakes his head. No use trying to form words when he’s this rattled. Literally, his bones have started shaking, and it’s making a real racket. His face is flushed a light purple in embarrassment. He points to the flower bed.

With her modified glasses [equipped with night, heat, and soul-vision], Undyne has no trouble seeing the body hidden beneath the flower bed.

“Oh, shit...Hang on, Paps, I gotta call Alph...uh...General Alphys.” She pulls her phone from the pocket of her lab coat and walks a short distance away to call her gal-pal. “Don’t! Move!”

Papyrus doesn’t...for a bit. He can’t. His femurs might as well be overcooked noodles. But once he regains his composure a bit, he...can’t help but be curious. He’s always wanted to see a human in person...they’re so interesting! They even have their own skeletons hidden inside them! 

But...he didn’t want...he never wanted to see one dead…

He gets up and goes to kneel beside the flowerbed, no longer concerned about getting his jeans wet. He pushes the golden flowers aside to get a better look. 

The human has a huge gash on their face, probably from hitting a rock or something on the way down from...well, the surface, probably. Geez...what a fall. There’s red fluid - blood, he remembers reading about blood - dripping from it, as well as some crusted around the wound. Despite the injury, their expression is completely serene, like they’re just sleeping. There are small scrapes and scratches all over their arms, and a few on their exposed upper chest, which is...moving? Nah, must be a trick of the light.

He reaches out and places a hand on their chest, finding that it’s pleasantly warm - certainly warmer than the tepid water surrounding the body. He can feel their sternum! It’s right there, under the skin! He taps it, and a little shiver goes up his spine at how strange it feels. He can see their collarbones, too! He runs a finger over them, pulling back suddenly when he feels something move under the surface of the human’s skin. He can’t see anything, so he brushes his hand over the spot again. 

“It’s...a pulse. The human has a pulse...” he mutters.

“What??” Undyne shouts from behind him.

“It has a pulse!” he repeats excitedly. 

Undyne’s face splits into a terrifyingly toothy smile. “That means it has a SOUL!” She’s thrilled, though Papyrus isn’t exactly sure why. Of course it has a SOUL? Doesn’t everything…? She goes back to talking to Alphys on the phone.

Papyrus slides his hands into the water and under the human, scooping them out of the water and resting them on his femurs. They’re...small. Smaller than he thought humans were supposed to be. But they’re not wearing stripes, so they must be fully grown. Papyrus can see the rest of their body now - their boots, torn pants, and even their hair - wow, it has hair! Papyrus always wished he could have hair. It’s long, and tied up, like how Undyne keeps hers. He picks some stray bits of trash out of it. 

A human. A real, live human! And he found it! Sans would be so proud! [So proud...he might even... let Papyrus keep it?]

He starts a bit when Undyne’s scaly hand clamps down on his shoulder. “Nice job, Paps! I never would’a noticed it over here.”

“I almost didn’t...it was hidden in the flowers.”

She nods. “Alphys and a couple guards are coming to pick it up. The Queen’s gonna be stoked!”

Papyrus’s SOUL sinks.

“What? Why are they gonna take it to the Queen? What does she want with it?” Papyrus is certain Sans told him that the Queen hated humans. So why...?

Undyne looks at him incredulously. “Uh, hello? She needs the SOUL?”

“For what??” 

“To break the barrier, ya dingus! How do you not know this??? Your brother’s in the Royal Guard!”

Papyrus huffs. “He doesn’t tell me anything…” And what Sans does tell him is usually a lie to make him feel better. To protect him from reality...this reality. 

When Papyrus finally puts two and two together, his body goes cold.

“You’re gonna kill ‘em.”

Undyne rolls her eye. “Uh, duh? That’s how you get the SOUL out, moron.”

Papyrus stands up so suddenly that Undyne hits her chin on his shoulder. 

She stumbles back.“Hey, what’s your problem?”

He doesn’t like the idea of Alphys handling the human. She’s all rough edges, battle-hardened and filled with hatred for humans [the ones not in anime, anyway]. She’ll end up carrying the poor thing like a sack of potatoes, or worse...and it’s already been through so much…

“...General Alphys doesn’t need to come all the way here. I can carry it.”

Undyne seems...unsure. “All the way to the castle?”

“It’s not heavy.” He insists. “It’s actually...really light??” You’d think that, with all the extra bits, it’d be heavier. 

Undyne relents. “Yeah, sure. Knock yerself out, I guess.” 

They wait for Alphys and her subordinates to arrive. Walking through the Underground with a human in your arms makes defending yourself a lot harder, and they don’t want to take any chances with the human and its precious SOUL. 

On the way, Papyrus tries to come up with a plan to save the human. There has to be a way. He could talk to his brother about it! As Captain of the Guard, Sans has to have some say in what happens at the castle! And...if that didn’t work, he’d just have to talk to the Queen himself!

...He’s never actually met her in person, and has heard terrifying tales of her temper, but...but…! Even if she’s scary, he has to try! He found this human! He should get to decide what happens to it!

With every step he takes towards the capital, he grows more determined to protect his human.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up after a fall you didn't intend to survive.

You spend a while in darkness, dead to the world around you.

But you’re not quite dead, are you? 

No. 

That would be too easy. 

Too soon, your dreamless sleep becomes shallow enough to let the outside world in, bit by bit. 

It starts with sounds. Voices, jumbled and distant. It’s as if someone is trying to speak to you, but you’re underwater. You can’t make out what the voices are saying, but it doesn’t matter. Not yet. 

The pain reaches you next, unfortunately. Throbbing in your arms and legs [no doubt from desperately trying to stay afloat in the pitch-black river], the raw, prickling feeling of an open wound on your back [you’d had some tight squeezes on the way down, and the rocks hadn’t been kind], and a skull-splitting pain emanating from the left side of your forehead [a gift from whatever piece of trash had finally knocked you unconscious]. 

You groan, your hands clenching and becoming wrapped in something soft and cool...Sheets? Are you...in a bed? 

You release the fabric and pat around you, feeling the plush comforter on top of you and the firm mattress beneath you. 

You try to open your eyes, to see where you are, but the warm lighting is too much. You squeeze your eyes shut, desperate to make the pain behind your eyes go away. Is this a hospital? Stars, you hope you’re not in a hospital…you can feel your weak pulse quicken just at the thought of it. 

You search desperately for reassurance that this is, in fact, not a hospital. You find it pretty quickly. 

This...doesn’t smell like a hospital. 

Not even close. It smells...like a bakery. Like...cinnamon…? 

And the harder you grip the comforter, the easier it is to feel that the cloth is hand-stitched, not made from the cheap, itchy fabric that outfits most hospital beds. 

It’s also quiet. Not only are the voices you heard while still asleep gone, but the tell-tale beeping of your pulse on a monitor is notably absent.

There’s no way this is a hospital.

So...where the hell are you?

Once again, you attempt to open your eyes. This time, you fight through the pain. You’re desperate to know just where you wound up. 

It’s a bedroom. A pretty big one, at that. There’s a dresser, a standing closet, second bed, a chest, and...toys…? It must be a child’s bedroom...or at least, it was. You can tell, even from your reclined position in the low-to-the-ground twin bed, that everything in the room - aside from the bed - is covered in a fine layer of dust. You must be the first person to use this room in quite a while. 

There’s a small table next to you with a glass of water and a small washcloth on it, and a little IV drip hanging there...well, actually, it’s strung up in the open closet, hanging from the clothes rack. The needle-end has been stuck into the back of your hand instead of your inner elbow. Whoever’s taking care of obviously isn’t a medical professional, but has  _ some _ medical supplies on hand. 

You crane your neck, looking towards the foot of your bed, searching for the door. You find it, but...it looks like it’s being...guarded? There’s someone leaning back in a chair right in front of it. 

They’re asleep, their long legs stretched out and their bald head against the wall, with a book titled “72 Uses for Snails” draped over their face. 

It’s kinda hard to tell from where you’re lying, but...they look kinda thin. Like, really thin...like, you-should-see-a-doctor thin…you can almost see their...spine...

Oh.

It’s a skeleton. One of those life-size ones you find at hardware stores around this time of year. Whoever found you must have a pretty sick sense of humor, taking the time and effort to dress it up and somehow get it to stay in that position, just to try and scare you. 

The absurdity of it forces a dry, raspy laugh out of you, which immediately devolves into a coughing fit. You sit up and lean forward, thumping your chest uselessly. 

It goes on like that for a while, until you feel a hand gently patting your back. You initially assume that the person who found you came in from the hall, or somewhere else in the house. But when you glance up at the door, you see that the door is still closed, and the chair where the skeleton had been sitting is empty. 

You freeze. 

“are you okay…?” 

The voice is soft, but it still sends a shiver up your back. You slowly turn towards it, and find your fears realized.

The skeleton. A  _ living _ skeleton, put together in a way that doesn’t seem normal. This one...probably wasn’t human. All of it’s bones fit together in a way that a human skeleton wouldn’t. It’s obvious that skin was never necessary to hold it together. 

It’s features are sharp - a pointed chin and cheekbones, sharp teeth and long canines (one of them gold!) - and yet...its expression (???) seems worried. It’s brow-bones are malleable, and creased in a way that resembles concern. You can see bright purplish lights within its pitch-black sockets, darting back and forth between your own eyes…

You jump, pushing yourself away from it as much as you can, with the heavy comforter weighing you down - and end up with your back against the wall. In the process, you pull on the IV tube and it comes out of your hand, leaving drops of water and blood behind. The vein where it had been starts to bleed, but you don’t really care. 

The skeleton seems to, though. It gawks at the blood, and looks around frantically. It grabs the washcloth from the bedside table and reaches for your hand. 

You pull away from it, leaning back as far as you can. 

The skeleton looks...hurt? Insulted? “Look, m’not gonna hurt ya...promise! I just...you...you’re  _ leaking _ , and I…” it reaches for your hand again, slower this time, “...just...let me…” 

Against your better judgement, you let it take your hand. It just looks so...panicked? Desperate? Stars, you’re really bad at reading it’s facial expressions. 

Your hand has already stopped bleeding - there’s just a single line of bright red where it dripped down your finger. 

The skeleton doesn’t seem to know, really, what to do. It wipes away the line of blood, but then just sort of...loosely wraps the washcloth around your hand. 

“Sorry…” the skeleton shifts, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “I’m...not great at this…does this help, at least?”

“Uh...sure…”

“Really? Cool...I mean, good. That’s…good.”

The two of your sit there in silence for a moment, the skeleton still holding the washcloth on your hand. It’s not long before the quiet starts to make both of you uncomfortable, so you ask a nagging question.

“Where am I?”

“You’re in Empress Toriel’s house.”

“...Empress...Toriel…?”

The skeleton nods. “She’s the leader of all us monsters here in the Underground.”

“So you’re...a monster?”

“Yup.”

“And you live underground?”

“Yup.”

“And now I’m underground?”

“Yup.” It pauses, suddenly seeming sheepish. “Uh...sorry. In advance. I don’t think you’re gonna like it here very much.”

“Why’s that?”

“It’s...pretty dangerous? The, uh, rule around here is ‘kill or be killed,’ so things can get...pretty dicey...real violent, and...all that. It’s...not a very nice place.”

“You seem pretty nice,” you point out. 

The skeleton’s eye sockets widen, and a purple hue shows up in blotches over its cheekbones. “Ehehehe...I’m, uh...a bit of an exception…never really liked fightin’...”

“Guess I lucked out, then.” 

“Huh?”

“That you found me.” 

“Oh! Uh, right…”

“You  _ were _ the one who found me, weren’t you?”

“Yeah! Over in waterfall...you were...uh…” it trails off, looking into a corner of the room.

“What’s your name?”

“Huh?”

“Your name…?”

“Papyrus! I’m, uh, Papyrus.” He offers a hand for you to shake, then realizes that the hand you’d shake it with is currently wrapped in the washcloth, and sticks the hand between his jeans-clad knees instead. 

You tell him your name.

“It’s, uh...it’s nice to meet ya,” he says shyly, the purple on his cheekbones darkening. “I’m, uh...I’m glad you’re...alive.”

You...don’t know what to say to that. You’re pretty sure it’s the first time anyone’s ever said those words to you. They make you feel...strange. A good kind of strange. 

“Me, too.”

You smile at him, and you think the expression he gives you is...joyous? It’s still so hard to tell.

Papyrus glances at the door. “I should...uh…” He digs in his pants pocket and pulls out a weird looking phone. He types something out and then places the phone on the bed. 

“It, uh...might get a little loud in here, for a bit,” he tells you with an apologetic (?) smile. “My, uh...friend??? Doesn’t have good volume control. She’s kinda...rough...but she’s more like me than other monsters, so she wouldn’t hurt you on purpose or anything! Especially not with the Empress breathing down her neck...still, I’ll make sure she doesn’t hurt you, okay? I promise.” 

You nod, not really reassured. You still have a lot of questions, and aren’t wholly sure that this is all real. You hope that this friend of Papyrus’s has some answers for you. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a second chapter? The inspiration for this one is hitting me pretty sporadically. Still, it's fun, so I'll probably add to it. Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Undyne, the Royal Scientist, and make your way to the castle for your audience with Empress Toriel.

Despite Papyrus’s warning, you’re not quite prepared for Undyne.

She kicks open the door, grinning ear to ear, looking at you with rabid fascination. You practically dive behind Papyrus, who seems utterly unfazed. Her arms are full - a binder covered in stickers of muscular anime girls is pressed to her chest, a blinking palm-sized machine is tucked into her elbow, and a swathe of purple-and-white cloth is wrapped around her arm. 

Thankfully, her attention doesn’t hold on you for long - her kick sends the door slamming into the wall of the bedroom, and she panics the second she realizes what she’s done. 

“Shit!” she shouts, dropping her things and rushing to check the wall. 

“Oh, thank fuck! No dent...Toriel woulda had my head…” she mutters, the red fins on her head sagging with relief.

Papyrus busts out laughing, doubling over while still seated on the bed. You laugh nervously along with him, peeking over his shoulder. 

She glares at him, “Oh, you think it’s funny,  _ punk _ ?” she picks up her binder and crosses the room so she can hit Papyrus over the head with it (gently, of course). “Quit laughing at me! I’m trying to intimidate the human!”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m still scared.” You have no trouble admitting that. You’d be scared even if Undyne wasn’t a six-and-a-half-foot-tall, scaly fish monster with shark teeth and one of her slitted yellow eyes covered with a bandage. 

She’s also only the second monster you’ve ever met, and Papyrus hinted that she might hurt you, even if only by accident. 

“Really?” She asks. You give her a wide-eyed nod. “Sweet! Mission accomplished!” She holds out one of her hands - with claws and webbing between the fingers - for you to shake. “I’m Dr. Undyne, the Royal Scientist!” You reach around Papyrus and shake the scientist’s hand. It’s damp and cold. “Don’t trust anything this numbskull’s told you about me - he’s just trying to make me look bad.”

“He, uh, actually didn’t say anything bad about you…”

“GOOD! Only I’m allowed to make me look bad!” she says, pointing to the bandage over her eye. Her laughter takes up the entire room. Papyrus rolls the lights in his eye sockets, apparently having heard this joke before. 

She clears her throat. “Now, onto business…” She places the binder on the bedside table and walks back across the room to retrieve the small blinking device. She shoos Papyrus from the bed and sits down on it herself, reaching out towards you with the machine. You hold still as she scans you up and down with it. 

“Uhhh…”

“Just checkin’ your vitals. You humans are so overcomplicated. Hold still…” She seems only halfway invested in whatever she sees on the screen. Suddenly, the device chimes, and she nods, sticking it into the pocket of her lab coat, which is covered in...dirt? Ash? Scorch-marks? Probably that last one. “You’re good to go!”

She stands, looking at you expectantly. “Well? C’mon! Up you get! I said you’re good to go, so let's GO!”

She reaches for you, but Papyrus intercepts, putting himself between the two of you. “Go where?” He asks nervously.

“Uh, the castle, moron. The Empress wants to see ‘em.”

“Already? Isn’t she busy?”

“Oh, she’s busy, alright. Been runnin’ the Guard ragged getting things all set up.”

“Set up for what?” You ask.

She dismisses your question with a wave of her hand. “You’ll see, you’ll see.”

Papyrus glances at you over his shoulder, then pulls Undyne to the other side of the small bedroom. His attempts to talk privately with the scientist are ineffective, and you wind up overhearing the whole conversation.

“‘Dyne...the Empress...she’s not gonna..y’know...kill ‘em, is she?”

“Nah,” she says, seeming a bit disappointed. “She’s already decided to keep ‘em. I don’t really get why, but at least I’ll finally have a  _ live _ human to work with!”

The way she says ‘live’ fills you with dread. 

Suddenly, Undyne fixes Papyrus with a pitying look. “Your brother, though...he’s been trying to change her mind about it all day.”

“What? Why?”

She shakes her head. “You know how he is! And with how close we are to breaking the barrier...it’s...well, I kind of agree with him. A lot of us do.”

Papyrus takes a step back from Undyne, and she rushes to explain herself. 

“Look, the human’s safe with me - I’d never go against the Empress’s orders. I’d like to remain un-dusted for as long as possible,” she says with a humorless chuckle. “And it’s not like the Empress listened to him. She’s a stubborn old goat - literally! - so she gave him a stern talking-to.”

“Yikes...that’ll put him in a shitty mood…”

“Isn’t he always in a shitty mood?”

“Good point. An even shittier mood than usual.”

They laugh, and then return to your side of the bedroom. Undyne picks up the cloth from the floor and brushes it off. It looks like some kind of robe - a deep, royal purple with a white emblem on the front. It comes with baggy tan pants and a white turtleneck...but no shoes.

“The Empress gave me these for you to wear. They might be a bit big, but what you’re wearing now isn’t appropriate for the ceremony.”

“Ceremony?”

“Think you can dress yourself, or do you need help?” She continues, ignoring your question entirely. She’s not wrong. You’re wearing what appear to be children’s pajama pants - green with little yellow flowers - and a striped sweater. With how big Papyrus and Undyne are compared to you, it wouldn’t be surprising if kid’s clothes were the only thing they had lying around that fit you. 

You sigh. “I think I can do it myself.” You swing your legs over the side of the bed. “Only one way to find out.” 

You attempt to stand, but find that your legs are a bit weak at the knees. Luckily, Papyrus is right there, and catches you by your elbows. 

“Be careful! Don’t rush...” he chides. 

“S-sorry...um...thanks.” You can’t help blushing a bit from embarrassment. You’ve never been unable to stand by yourself. It’s...not pleasant, but for some reason, you trust Papyrus to keep you steady. He seems fully invested in your wellbeing, which is more than you can say for most of the people that you’ve known.

Undyne laughs. “Softie.”

“Just gimme the clothes.” 

You sit back down on the edge of the bed and undress. Papyrus, a true gentleman, keeps his eye-sockets closed (somehow), but hovers nearby while you slip the turtleneck and robe on over your head. When you stand to put the pants on, he holds his arms outstretched for you to hold onto in case you lose your balance or feel weak again. 

It all strikes you as very sweet. You’re still blushing, but it’s less embarrassing now that you realize the purple color (covering most of his face, at this point) is his way of blushing. 

At least you’re both in the same boat. 

Undyne, meanwhile, isn’t even trying to hide that she’s looking. You hope that her interest is simply scientific, but with the grin she’s sporting, you can’t be sure. 

You’re glad when it’s all over, and you’re fully dressed in the slightly oversized robe. It looks pretty okay on you, you think. 

Undyne takes a hairbrush out of her pocket and hands it to you. “Don’t get any gross human germs on it.”

You laugh nervously, not sure if she’s serious or not. Papyrus watches with rapt interest as you brush out your long hair, then tie it up in a ponytail. You’ve always preferred to keep it out of your face. 

From there, the three of you head down the hall to an elevator. Apparently, it goes directly to the castle, somehow. You’re feeling much steadier on your feet, but Papyrus remains by your side, just in case. 

While you wait for it to arrive, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror - specifically, the huge red scar on your forehead. It starts at the center, near your hairline, and arcs down into your left eyebrow. 

It’s...ugly.

You hate it.

You don’t have much time to dwell on it, however. Undyne pulls you and Papyrus into the elevator. 

Undyne turns to you.“You’re awfully quiet, human.” 

“They have a name,” Papyrus says sternly. 

“Right, right.” she says your name, drawing out the syllables and adding an eye-roll for flavor. “Watcha thinkin’ about, punk?”

You shrug. “I’m just...not really sure what to make of all this.” You gesture vaguely at your surroundings. “Or what to make of you, honestly. Are you a doctor, or…?”

“Yeah! Well, that’s my title, anyway. But I don’t really deal with medicine very often. I work for the Empress in an effort to liberate all of monsterkind from this subterranean prison!” The last line is said with a theatrical flair, and she puffs out her chest.

Papyrus leans down to your level, “mostly she just blows shit up.”

“HEY!” she swats at Papyrus with her binder again, but he dodges it this time.

“That’s how she lost her eye.”

“WHAT did I SAY about makin’ me look bad??”

The elevator dings, and the doors open to reveal a golden hallway. A pair of armored guards stand just outside the elevator, and Undyne presents an ID to them.

The guards - which appear to be bipedal rabbits - eye you with equal parts suspicion and curiosity as you pass by. 

At the end of the hallway is a regal looking set of doors with the same symbol on your robe. 

“Hey, Papyrus?”

“Hm?”

“What’s that symbol? I mean...this one?”

“It’s the Delta Rune. It’s the symbol of our kingdom - or, really, the symbol of the Royal Family.” His expression turns thoughtful. “There’s a prophecy tied to it, I think, but I don’t remember what it is…”

Undyne presents her ID to two more guards, an alligator and a cat. You wonder just how many different kinds of monsters there are down here. Are they all unique, or are there subspecies? You decide to file the thought away, and ask Undyne about it later.

The doors open, revealing a throne room of epic proportions, with high ceilings and huge stained-glass windows, and an absolutely enormous throne. You quickly realize why everything is larger-than-life - the Empress herself, who stands in the center of the room, is easily ten feet tall, and the armor she wears makes her seem just as wide. 

She’s a ram...or maybe a goat? She’s covered head to toe in thick white fur, with an elongated snout with a thick scar across it, long drooping ears, and a pair of small horns growing from the top of her head.

She turns to you, apparently having been tending a small patch of yellow flowers growing between the cracks in the burgundy floor tiles. When she sees you, her cold expression warms. She smiles, revealing a pair of fangs. 

“Hello, small one. Welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No editing, we die like men.  
> Seriously, though, this chapter was fun to write. I always like putting my own spin on these AU characters, and Undyne is a lot of fun.  
> Next chapter, we meet Toriel, Sans, and Alphys, and the mysterious "ceremony" takes place!  
> Update: I actually did go back and edit this chapter. I wasn't quite pleased with how it came out...so I added a bit to smooth things over. Including more interaction with papyrus, because hes a sweetie.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Empress of the Underground claims you as her ward.

“ _Hello, small one. Welcome._ ”

You find yourself completely at a loss for words, your heart dropping into the pit of your stomach. You’re struck with the realization that, if this monster wanted you dead, there’s nothing you could do to fight back.

For the first time since waking up, you feel panic bubbling up inside you.

But you’re not alone.

You jump a bit when you feel a hand on your shoulder, but it’s just Papyrus, offering support yet again. He still looks nervous - that’s his default state - but not afraid. He smiles down at you, and somehow, despite his sharp teeth, it reassures you. It’s too genuine an expression to second-guess.

The Empress takes a few thundering steps toward you, crushing the small yellow flowers in her garden underfoot. “I am Toriel, Empress of the Underground.”

When you cannot respond, she looks disappointed. Her polish armor shifts as she drops to one knee before you to speak to you at eye-level. It’s… better, but you still have to look up to meet her eyes.

“What is your name, small one?”

Falteringly, you tell her.

She smiles warmly, “You need not be afraid. You are my guest. I will not harm you.”

You’re not sure you can believe that, but you nod anyway.

“You have already met my Royal Scientist, Undyne. She will oversee your health.” She stands and turns so you can see past her.

Two guards stand on either side of the huge throne - one a large lizard covered in scars, and the other a skeleton like Papyrus, though shorter. You suspect he is the brother you’ve heard about. Their armor is a cleaner and fancier than that of the other guards you’ve seen.

The Empress gestures towards them. “These are my personal guards, Captain Sans and General Alphys. For the time being, Alphys will also serve as your bodyguard. She will accompany you everywhere you go.”

The General gives a brief wave, though her expression remains stony. The Captain walks away, toward the stained glass windows. There’s a glass door there that you hadn’t noticed before, leading out to a balcony. He opens it, letting in the unmistakable sounds of a gathering crowd, and steps outside.

“While there is no safer place in the Underground than by my side,” the Empress continues, “I regrettably cannot be with you at all hours. It is important that you go nowhere alone.”

“What about Papyrus?” You ask.

Toriel’s expression goes soft again, “Ah, dear Papyrus.” The skeleton shifts awkwardly under her fond gaze. “I have no doubts that he will remain at your side… but as he is no longer a member of my guard, I cannot trust him with your safety.”

You feel Papyrus’s hand drop from your shoulder.

“Perhaps he will serve as your emotional support? He seems well suited to it.”

You can’t help but agree. He’s been nothing but supportive since the moment you woke up. Despite his nervousness, you feel secure knowing that he’s around.

“Now, there is something very important that I must do to ensure your safety. As we speak, citizens of the Capital are gathering in the courtyard. I have summoned them so I may publicly declare you to be under my direct protection. To further support this, I will give you this warding collar to wear.”

She reaches into the fabric beneath her armor and reveals a black leather collar - simple, but still made for someone of high social standing. From it dangles a golden charm - you now recognize it as the Delta Rune.

Before you can respond, the Captain Sans returns from outside. “EVERYTHING IS READY, YOUR MAJESTY.”

Empress Toriel nods. “Thank you, Captain. Small one… please remain here until I call you.” And with that, she walks out onto the balcony, and the murmurs you’d heard go quiet.

The moment she’s out of the room, Undyne power-walks over to Alphys, whose tense expression brightens. They start talking excitedly about something.

You don’t know how to feel about all this. The thought of wearing a collar seems… strange to you. You reach a hand up to your bare throat.

“Hey…”

You turn to Papyrus and realize for the first time that he’s wearing a collar. It’s nothing like the one Toriel showed you - his is a dark brown, well-worn, with spikes and a single bone charm hanging from it. It hangs loosely around the vertebrae of his neck, half-hidden beneath the thick fur in the hood of his zip-up hoodie.

“I know it might seem weird, but… well, collars are a common thing down here.”

“Why?”

He shrugs. “Protection, mostly.”

“How does wearing a collar protect you?”

“It’s…proof. Proof that there’s someone willin’ to defend you. Like, if anything happens to you, the person who gave you the collar will exact revenge…or somethin’ like that.” He pauses, thinking for a moment. “‘Course, it’s more effective as a deterrent if the monster who gave it to ya is strong. Havin’ a collar from a weak monster doesn't mean all that much.”

“…So…who’s protecting you?”

“My bro. Sans has a…reputation…and as a member of the Royal Guard, he gets a lotta respect. So as long as I wear this, no one will mess with me.”

“So if the Empress gives me a collar…”

“That’s as safe as it gets. I mean, there’s still no guarantee…there are some real crazies out there…but trust me, it’ll be worth wearing.”

You’re about to argue, but Captain Sans walks back into the throne room. “HUMAN. THE EMPRESS IS READY FOR YOU.”

You look to Papyrus one last time, and he gives you a thumbs-up. Hesitantly, you follow the Captain out onto the balcony.

Dull light streams in from above, through a thin crack in the cave ceiling. You squint, jarred by the sight of the capital’s skyline (can it really be called a skyline without the sky as its backdrop?).

The Empress turns to you, reaching out her huge, furry hand. You take it, and she leads you to stand in front of her, facing the crowd. Far below, monsters of every shape and size have gathered. They stare up at you, some glaring, others looking on with wonder. You start to sweat.

“From this day forward,” Toriel’s voice booms, echoing off the cave walls. “This human will be my ward. They are under my protection, and anyone who seeks to harm them will face severe punishment.”

She lowers the collar over your head, and pulls it flush against the base of your throat, buckling it in the back. The charm falls perfectly in the space between your collarbones.

The crowd neither cheers nor jeers, remaining eerily silent. The Empress seems disappointed, but not surprised.

She sighs. “That is all. You are dismissed,” Placing her paw on your back and turning you, practically pushing you back into the throne room. 

You catch the Captain’s eye as you walk by him, and while he’s just as difficult to read as his brother, you can tell the look on his face is one of contempt. You remember that he was the one trying to convince the Empress to kill you. 

The thought of him being partially responsible for your safety sends a shiver down your spine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not quite happy with how this turned out, i was a bit rushed. I'll likely return to it later and add/change a few thing. thanks for reading!


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